November 20, 2013

In the Kitchen: Orange Pumpkin Bread

The moral of this story is when you roast a whole pumpkin, you end up with baked pumpkin goods all season long. Which is actually quite enjoyable when you freeze half the pumpkin puree and can enjoy it all the way through the holidays. I made this pumpkin bread earlier in the week to satisfy a muffin craving. Having a loaf of flavorful bread seems a lot more reasonable than 24 muffins for two people to eat in a week. The orange zest and juice adds a lot of flavor to what can be a pretty dense bread. Try it toasted with cream cheese for a luxurious breakfast.

Orange Pumpkin Bread

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/4 fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 5 by 9 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, light brown sugar, canola oil, eggs, orange zest and juice, and vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Gently fold in flour mixture into pumpkin mixture in batches of three, and mix until combined. Pour batter into loaf pan and top with streusel

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then place on a wire rack for 10 minutes to continue cooling.

Streusel Topping

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons cold butter

In a small bowl, combine light brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles peas.